Mine Workers (UMWA) members are rallying in St. Louis today to stand up to Patriot Coal's plan to shed promised health care benefits for tens of thousands of retirees and their dependents. As previously reported, UMWA says Patriot Coal was created to fail so Peabody Energy and Arch Coal—the companies that most of the retirees actually had worked for—could get rid of their obligations to former workers. Fairness at Patriot Now will be live-blogging the rally and will march to Peabody headquarters.

You also can follow the AFL-CIO's Cathy Sherwin on Twitter to get live updates. 

How did we end up with all these low-wage, no-benefit temporary jobs in our economy?

Erin Hatton, of State University of New York at Buffalo, had a fascinating read in the New York Times this weekend, The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy, tracing the rise in America of the temp industry, and how it forged "new cultural consensus about work and workers." 

My career is invested in the aerospace industry, so it was very sobering to me when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered that 787 airplanes be grounded.

Friends ask me to explain the situation— what lessons can we draw from the 787? Invariably, we start with "outsourcing."

A mine superintendent at the former Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch (W.Va.) mine, where 29 coal miners were killed in 2010, will serve 21 months in prison for his role in disabling a methane monitor that automatically shuts down a coal cutting machine when dangerous levels of the explosive gas are detected. As part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Gary May also will pay a $20,000 fine.

As if we didn't already have enough on our plates (having to fend off attacks from the "Fix the Debt" CEOs), now there's another group of CEOs, the Business Roundtable, telling us we need to "modernize," a.k.a. cut, Social Security and Medicare benefits by raising the eligibility ages and reducing cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). How helpful. 

Walmart employees who are part of the OUR Walmart group organizing for change and workers' rights at the massive chain announced on their Facebook page that Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart, said at the National Retail Federation conference this morning that Walmart will begin to have more transparency in its scheduling system "so part-time workers can choose more hours for themselves." 

In July, Patriot Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. Among the reasons for Patriot’s financial difficulties were the huge legacy costs related to health care benefits and pensions owed to retirees and widows of former employees. The company's intended goal, it seems, according to the Mine Workers (UMWA), is to get out of obligations to the miners that worked hard for decades, often doing significant damage to their own health.

We've reported for several months now the "Fix the Debt" group is a Trojan horse. It cynically calls for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits (in the name of "deficit reduction") while advocating for lower taxes for corporations and businesses that ship jobs overseas. 

Ten of the nation’s largest banks agreed earlier this week to settle charges of foreclosure abuse with federal regulators. After the housing bubble burst, banks allegedly processed foreclosures improperly and mishandled homeowners’ applications for mortgage modifications. The resulting foreclosure crisis hurt all working families. Homes lost value, especially in communities of color that were among the hardest hit.

An editorial in Wednesday's Orlando Sentinel challenges numerous myths about the end of Hostess and correctly blames the company's downfall on management's assault on working families.